verbissenvsvermisstenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: verbissen is a verb, vermissten is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“verbissen” is a verb and “vermissten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#36,700
“verbissen” frequency rank
#17,449
“vermissten” frequency rank
54149
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verbissen vermissten
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs verbeißen Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs vermisst

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set verbissen and vermissten apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
verbissen
10 ch
vermissten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verbissen is [fɛɐ̯ˈbɪsn̩] while vermissten is [fɛɐ̯ˈmɪstn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54149, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verbissen is recorded at frequency rank #36,700, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈbɪsn̩]. vermissten is at rank #17,449, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈmɪstn̩].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 54149, this pair ranks #1,030,192 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of verbissen vs vermissten

Shared letters: einrsv. Private to "verbissen": b. Private to "vermissten": mt.

"verbissen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "vermissten" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verbissenevrbissen · vebrissen · verbbissen · verbisen · verbisesn · verbissenn · verbissne · verbißen
  • vermisstenevrmissten · vemrissten · verimssten · vermissetn · vermisstenn · vermisstne · vermisstten · vermisten

Frequency comparison

verbissen#36,700
vermissten#17,449

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verbissen" and "vermissten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "verbissen" is a verb and "vermissten" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "verbissen" or "vermissten"?
"vermissten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,449 in our German list, against #36,700 for "verbissen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering verbissen vs vermissten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “verbissen”; for an adjective, it's “vermissten”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “verbissen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list